Presidency administers oath of secrecy on Aso Rock staff

The Presidency has administered an oath of secrecy on all staff at the State House in Abuja, with a warning that disclosure of confidential information without authorisation would attract penalties under the public service rules.

The Permanent Secretary in the State House, Tijjani Umar, gave the warning during an administration of Oath of Secrecy and Declaration of Secrecy to 42 staff of the State House on Tuesday.

The oath was administered on the staff by Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.

In a statement signed by the Assistant Director Information, State House, Patience Tilley-Gyado, the Permanent Secretary said the oaths were administered to staff members who handle classified documents.

He said: “We discovered that due to deployment of officers and retirement, a number of our staff need to be placed under the radar so that they will be aware that their jobs, the kind of documents or information they are handling from day-to-day and beyond, are so important and must be safeguarded.

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“That’s the reason we decided to do the needful by administering the Oath of Secrecy, highlighting the importance of letting them know what information they are managing and the consequences of the breach of such information.:

Umar, who stressed that the exercise would be continuous, expressed delight that the State House has not recorded any breach of information.

He added: ‘‘We have not had any breach. We don’t anticipate having any breach.

‘‘But then, it’s our duty to let them understand that if there is any, there will be consequences after investigations and that also includes after they have retired from the Civil Service.

“The essence of this exercise is to ensure the safety and security of government information, documents, and facilities.”

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